On Tuesday 7^th May 2019 we welcomed year 10 students from across the West Midlands to join us on campus for a day of Law ‘myth busting’. The day started with an introduction to the Pathways to Law programme followed up by a “True or False” activity where the students were presented with a series of Law questions and asked to show a card (green or red) representing if they believed the law to be in fact true, or false. This was followed by a ‘Day in the life of a law student’ session, it was explained to the group what a ‘normal’ week would look like for a law student studying at the University of Warwick. The students then had the opportunity to ask current law student ambassadors questions about their course and experience at university.

After a short refreshment break the students had a Law lecture from a Warwick academic, Professor Gary Watt. His session was titled ‘Hearing both sides of an argument, fictional nature of facts’ where he explored the idea what makes a fact a fact and does emotion play a part? The session proved hugely popular with the students, with one stating “The academic lecture was interesting and not boring, interested me not just about law but also university”. The students then got to hear from two current legal professionals, both practicing very different types of law. After hearing the professionals talk, the students got to ask questions to the speakers about their journey into the profession and ask for any tips and advice.

The afternoon session was an interactive mock courtroom. The students were given courtroom roles, lead prosecution, defendant etc. and asked to use their imagination and acting skills to role play out a case. The students all really got into character and with the help of the programme lead Laura, who acted as the court room clerk, worked their way through the hearing. There were two sets of jury in the room that heard the case, interestingly, their sentencing were different with one group finding the defendant not guilty and the other group sentencing the defendant to 6 years in jail. 

To finish the day the students then went on a campus tour before making their way to the coach park and catching the mini bus back to school. The pupils that attended the event all said they enjoyed the day and that it gave them a very interesting insight into studying Law at University.